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Topic: do something (Read 23541 times)

Astra

You have just confirmed what I was saying. 30 people out of approx 3000 is a minority.

Also, how do the peoply who have houses backing on to this piece of land feel about having their peace and quiet disturbed by skaters and skateboarders or are you saying that you are all going to practice in absolute silence.

Just for the record, when I was young I had skates. It is not an up and coming thing. It has been around for longer than you think. Also, there were plenty of children when I was young that had bikes - maybe not BMX but thats a gimmick anyway.

Once again we seem to be pandering to the wants of the minority instead of the needs of the majority.

You have just confirmed what I was saying. 30 people out of approx 3000 is a minority.

I personally know of a lot more than 30 - I would have thought and hoped that when word gets around, there would be more than this as well. Anyway - if those 30, or however many it is, are willing to do the work, why shouldn't they have a park?

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Also, how do the peoply who have houses backing on to this piece of land feel about having their peace and quiet disturbed by skaters and skateboarders or are you saying that you are all going to practice in absolute silence.

I have not yet seen one complaint on this board about it - the spot that has been chosen is fairly isolated.

I would have thought that any thing that gets kids out of the houses and gardens would meet with your approval anyway Astra :-)[/quote]

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Once again we seem to be pandering to the wants of the minority instead of the needs of the majority.

Please define 'we' in the above sentance. I am not aware that you have offered to help or support the project in anyway.

Also please define what you mean by 'once again'.

James

« Last Edit: September 18, 2002, 09:59:47 pm by admin »

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James Bentall, Brookmans Park, Herts.I post in a personal capacity and not on behalf of North Mymms Parish Council

all i feel is that if us, the kids, raise this mny and put in the effort, i feel we can run it as we will feel a responsibility to it. and to completly weak argument of not having it because of it positioned behind peoples houses, they survive with a park with dogs excretin behind their houses, why not have a skatepark (i know in ur eyes we r the same as the dogs excretion).

Dear James,It would be easy for me to say it has nothing to do with me but as a ratepayer and inhabitant I suppose it has.I may not know enough to pontificate on this installation but surely if it is to be of any worth it will need to be quite a largish thing to accomodate the amount of people who may wish to use it. I should imagine that it will have to be built to certain standards and that the council will be involved? Is it proposed to be a private venture or a civic amenity, insurance etc.Seems like a huge undertaking to me considering councils can spend 20K on a speed hump?Just interested in the logistics? EU grant, Lottery grant?Seems like the biggest thing to happen around here since, well ever?Just interested if you are a bit busy for a fully reply then don't worry ( its just that I have something of value pending the outcome )regards,jet

Astra

The kids in Calder Avenue that are a pain in the neck are a bit young to mix with teenagers at a skatepark.

The definition of 'we' is a generality of everything that needs doing. It would appear that fundraising will be organised by the adults, planning and building of the park will be organised by the adults, maintenance will need to be done by adults and when push comes to shove, it will have to be paid for by adults.

Scykotik

After decoding your almost indecipherable message, I would like to point out something, dogs s**t quietly!!!!!I have yet to see any youth project that was not abandoned and left when the kids found something better to do or there was a good program on tv or they had a good game to play on the computer or it was raining!!!!

Please also extend the courtesy of writing your words properly so that I and many others can understand what you are trying to say.

That's just being daft! On a similar vein, we much demolish the Brookmans Park library at once, because it is not big enough for everyone who wants to use it to fit inside at the same time.

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The kids in Calder Avenue that are a pain in the neck are a bit young to mix with teenagers at a skatepark.

Yes, I know that - it was a bit tongue in cheek. Having said that, having originally built the BMX track in Welham Green for teenagers, I know of families with quite young children who go down there to use it during quieter times.

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The definition of 'we' is a generality of everything that needs doing. It would appear that fundraising will be organised by the adults, planning and building of the park will be organised by the adults, maintenance will need to be done by adults and when push comes to shove, it will have to be paid for by adults.

I know you don't know me at all, but that's not the way I operate. When I'm running my scout troop, I will delegate as much of the planning and organisation to the young people as they are capable and willing to do, and push them to take on more if they're not.

There is NO POINT in this project just being done by adults - it will fail at the first hurdle. In order to be a success with teenagers, they will need to come on board and take ownership of it, develop their own ideas about what the park should contain, how to raise the money etc, etc. Several have messaged me privately on the website saying they are willing to do this.

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I have yet to see any youth project that was not abandoned and left when the kids found something better to do or there was a good program on tv or they had a good game to play on the computer or it was raining!!!!

I'll say what I said before again. If the young people are willing to put time and effort into helping get this built, then why is this a problem?[/quote]

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Please also extend the courtesy of writing your words properly so that I and many others can understand what you are trying to say.

I'm with you on this one Astra

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James Bentall, Brookmans Park, Herts.I post in a personal capacity and not on behalf of North Mymms Parish Council

wilks02

yeah i think the kids should get involved in this park as an adult who has never steped on a skateboard does not understand the finer points of skateparks i.e lines, gaps or even the names of equipment.

Dear James,It would be easy for me to say it has nothing to do with me but as a ratepayer and inhabitant I suppose it has.I may not know enough to pontificate on this installation but surely if it is to be of any worth it will need to be quite a largish thing to accomodate the amount of people who may wish to use it. I should imagine that it will have to be built to certain standards and that the council will be involved? Is it proposed to be a private venture or a civic amenity, insurance etc.

The council have agreed to cover it on their insurance, subject to certain conditions.

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Just interested in the logistics? EU grant, Lottery grant?

Both are a possibility. I have been looking at the lottery site, and several skate parks have been built with lottery money through Sport England grants in recent years.

There's also many other sources of money - both nationally and locally that would be possible sources of income.

James

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James Bentall, Brookmans Park, Herts.I post in a personal capacity and not on behalf of North Mymms Parish Council

John_fraser

We are all minorities in many ways and there are very few public facilities that aren’t used only by a minority. Swimming baths, libraries, dumps, sports centres are all available to everyone but only used by a minority. Exactly like this will be available to all but used by a few.

On the subject of paying for it, I’d rather my taxes went on this than a lot of things e.g. roads that split a community rather than build one. That said, I do think that the users should help pay for it. It will be better regarded by all and the people who use it will appreciate it more. As the users will be fit and probably young it might be a good idea for them to raise some of the money from the community themselves. I’d happily pay more to have my car hand washed for this project than I ‘d pay at the local garage, you could ask whatever you want to cut my lawn and a sponsored cleanup of the village may raise some funds. Take the logo of this site to heart: Created by the community for the community

The dog owners who spoil Gobbins are a disgrace. But that is another issue, more about people’s attitude to the environment and not much different to the rubbish dumping in the lanes.

15 minutes Jet? That's pushing it a bit - I count myself a fairly proficient cyclist and that would take me a lot longer than that!

Yes, I saw that article. Also saw the one two months ago when they said they were looking at doing something in the North Mymms area as well - obviously WGC is more important. Not surprising - probably done it on population.

In terms of distance, the current one in St Albans is probably nearer anyway, but once again I'll say - if people in the village are willing to do something about having a skate park here, then I see no reason why one being built 8 miles away should change anything.

James

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James Bentall, Brookmans Park, Herts.I post in a personal capacity and not on behalf of North Mymms Parish Council

Dear James,I most have missjudged the location, I thought it was on Hatfield Rd. near the old airport?I have seen you cycle, 30MPH = 16 mins? I mean cyclists do not need to stop for lights whatever Surely if jet could cycle 20 miles with his fishing paraphenalia then St Albans is hardly the next county is it.Dear Moonie,I thought you kind off strapped it on your back, or drove your mates there when you passed your test Dear James,The council works in mysterious but obvious ways, the people who pay the most do not get a lot, its called re distribution of wealth.There are a heck of a lot of people in Hatfield for instance who do not pay council tax, for various reasons.You will also notice that WGC is allways imaculate.My news, well it was news to me, suggests to me that the council are unlikely to fund similar projects so close?Who knows, but this local one does not seem to compare with the apparent grandness of the £80K one, seems a bit unfair to me?regards,jet

Someone metioned to me that when skateboarding was at its height of popularity a skateboard park was built in Wheathampstead, needless to say the youngsters moved on and the residents complained about the eyesore and had it pulled down as it wasn't used and became dangerous. Although swimmers, readers and other well known groups are minorities they have stood the test of time, in other words there is always a need for a swimming pool, library etc. But skateboarding has a habit of fading away for great lengths of time. Do we really want the noise of a skateboarding track in what is after all supposed to be a country village, which one presumes peopled moved to because they liked the idea of a quieter more slower life. Lots of people cannot live without the hustle and bustle of town life and there are also lots of people who can't live with it, surely that's why we have different types of locations so everybody will be happy living in the environement that suits them. So why bring the noise etc. of something of this scale to a supposedly quite village. I'm sure if I had one of the lovely houses backing on to Gobions I wouldn't like a skateboard park within 20 miles. Also wouldn't the extra people etc. be a disturbance to the local widlife which the Gobions trust has worked so hard to build up.

I admit that I have no answer to part of your statement Margaret (spelt correctly :-)) - I do know that skateboarding has been increasing in popularity over the last few (say about 5 years), but I am unable to predict the future.

Gobions woodland trust and Gobions public open space are two completely different things - despite being close to each other. We are not talking about building the skate park in the middle of a conservation area here, but on one of the empty fields owned by North Mymms Parish Council. I do believe that it is isolated enough to cause minimum disruption in terms of noise to local residents etc.

Adults may have chosen to move here for a quieter life (which seems strange as so many of them still commute to London!), however, with a major secondary school based in the village, I think it would be unreasonable to expect that there would be no young people, or activities for young people in the local area. Added to which, generally teenagers don't get the choice of where they live. They are stuck here - why shouldn't there be some activities for them to do, that they want?

James

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James Bentall, Brookmans Park, Herts.I post in a personal capacity and not on behalf of North Mymms Parish Council

All things go in cycles ( not bicycles) and I remember skateboarding coming and going in the 70s. This means in general poularity, of course die hard fans will continue untill they discover the opposite sex or cars.Strange how cool things suddenly become uncool.According to my calculations a skateboard should be capable of going slightly uphill dependant on mass/balance and CoG, does anyone know the angular limitations and how far it will go before one goes base over apex?A bit off the subject but from what I can see I certainly made a mistake getting rid of my flares 2 years ago. I had no idea that this generation would make themselves look as daft as us oldies did. Look at old tv films Sweeny etc. with a moderate breeze one could be flapping for hours Just imagine flares caught up in skateboard, we have discovered perpetual motion Just a bit of comic reliefregards,jet

Jet I could drive them to the skate park once I've passed, but then I don't know many skaters and not being a big fan myself I doubt I'd make use of it. However, what about those skaters who are unable to get a lift by car to the park. In that case they may decide to skate there, so how long would it take? lol To be honest I have mixed feelings on this project, and I feel it wouldn't be right for a village to play host to a skate park.

Perhaps we should fight to get a skate park in Potters Bar......near enough for people from BP to go to........but not to near us:)) In fact more I think about it, Oakmere Park is crying out for a skatepark

wilks02

hey, the whole idea of this skateparks is that is a local one for local kids to get them of the streets. it is not going to be a 64,000 square foot one like in florida is it. just a nice LOCAL one (hence not in WGC)

i'm still trying to get over the fact that this skatepark (if ever built) is going so loud i am going to nead to where ear defenders?later

Sorry Wilks, but when we recently went on holiday we went to a park that had a skate park in it. To be honest it was noisy, people using it were swearing with delight as they did great moves, the noise of the skates themselves were very loud, but I admit a lot of that was drowned out by the very loud music they were playing.

These things to have to be taken into account. Before any project goes ahead, we have to look at pros and cons. Every business does that. Its not that we are saying NO to the idea, but looking at all possibilities.

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iluvboys

hi i am a teenager in brookmans park and i am quite frequently out at 11 at night aswell!the reason for this is because there is nothing going on in brookmans park and so all teenagres get really really really BORD!!!!!!!i think the idea for an internet cafe is a good idea or a skatepark beacuse lets face it-brookmans park is sooooo boring an there is nothing to do!as for smoking and drinking which somepeople think we do-it not all of us!and the very few it is,r only trying out new things because thats part of growing up!i bet when you were a child u had the odd puff, just because it was new and intresting!anyway i think we shoud do something for the teenagers for once as i know there are lots of us!reply and let me know what you think!

I think I agree with all that has been written above - which worries me as it has been written by ppl both aparentely for and against it!

To sum up:

If you look how little WGC are getting for their £80,000, we are not talking about a major skate park in the village which is going to attract people from miles around. A major skatepark in Gobions would be daft, situated completely in the wrong place, underused and a source of more grief than I would have thought possible.

There appear to be numerous people in the village who are willing to help with either designing or fundraising for some sort of facilities for skateboarders/BMX Bikers in the village. Providing such a facility is fairly small scale, I can't see that anyone will object to it anymore than they will, say, the children's playground at Gobions Open Space.

Unless something profound happens, I won't be contributing to this thread again - I believe it is starting to get a bit circular and not really going anywhere....

I will be, in 3-4 weeks time, sending out flyers etc to houses in Brookmans Park and around Chancellors School trying to find out what level of support there is, and whether it is worth going further.

The first stage will then be to go back to North Mymms Council with some more definate plans, and take things from there.

Cheers,

James

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James Bentall, Brookmans Park, Herts.I post in a personal capacity and not on behalf of North Mymms Parish Council

di_kezio

I disagree, I think that if we had a nice youth club that the youngsters could go to then we wouldn't need to have a skate park built. It would be a waste of money and everyone should realise that. Besides, skateboarding is for 10 year olds, why would teenagers go to a skating area? If we opened up the church at the bottom of moffats and the parishoners and the vicar took turns at sitting and minding the children/teenagers, then I'm sure in the long run everyone would have more fun and it would be far cheaper.

Only kidding, C u at school tomoz, how was biking with Jaime???

Kez!

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Larry

I have no idea why you people think that building a skate park will solve all your problems with teenagers in the streets.. Skating is just another stupid trend. You must remember it is impossible to please everyone.. if you built a skate park and expected all the teenagers in the village to flock there, most of them would laugh at you.Again with any sort of youth club.. the youth of today are not like the namby-pamby characters on biker grove or whatever stupid kids shows you can name.

The new generations of kids are more uneducated, rude and arrogant than ever before. This change in society as a whole needs to be sorted out.. when you see young kids swearing like old sailors and being totally disrespectful to everyone and everything.

When I was young, if I stepped out of line, I'd get a clout 'round the ear. Now you have to say "please don't do that" because if you lay a finger on your child some one from the CPA who thinks they know how to raise your children better than you do comes knocking at your door...

I blame the government personally, but then, we can blame them for a lot of things...